Final Purchase Choices - Need Opinions

Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:20 am

Ok, so to make this as short and sweet as possible, I have made two lists of possible parts and reasons for both, and I wanted to bounce it off the community to see what everyone thinks. The numbers you see are the cost including shipping and tax to my door.

First off, there are some components that are the same for both possible rigs. They are:

Mobo= GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L = $102.83

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5372008 (I will purchase in store though)

Memory= OCZ Platinum (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 rev.2 = $85.89 ($50.89 after rebate)

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cf ... =CA4308301

Hard Drive= Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM = $69.78

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148261

Power Supply= CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply = $95.46 ($75.46 after rebate)

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... e=10006757

Case= Rosewill R6A34-BK ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail = $53.66

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811147041

Case Fans= (2) Thermaltake A2029 120mm fan = $30.54

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811999145

Heatsink/Fan= Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro = $27.30

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835186134

Computer 1 = LOW Budget Machine

The low budget adds the following components:

CPU= Pentium Dual Core e2160 Conroe (Toxic's post led me to research this chip as a solid overclocker. Can reach 3.2 on my mobo np) = $83.74

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cf ... =CA1938427

Video Card= SAPPHIRE 100196L Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 = $172.26

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102075

OS= XP Pro (have a copy already)

The total for the low budget is: $666.46 after rebates.

My idea behind this computer is that I will make due with it for now, and since I got a p35 mobo, top quality memory and power supply, I can easily upgrade to a 1333 conroe or penryn and a solid nvidia card when the prices get cheaper 8-12 months from now.

Computer 2 = Budget Machine (Under $1000)

The better budget machine adds the following components:

CPU= Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail = $209.37

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115029

Video Card= eVGA 8800GTS 320 superclocked = $274.7

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5154686

OS= Vista Home Premium = $107.36

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cf ... ab=4&nav=1

The total for this one is: $1013.90 after rebates

NOTES

Right now I am thinking I do not want to miss the great deals on the memory, case, and power supply, so I was planning on buying them today or tomorrow.

I spent 2 hours looking for a solid power supply and the corsair is highly rated, on a top tier from a site hornet gave me, and has 41 amps on its 12v line. The comparable unit from PC Power & Cooling is 129. I am thinking the Corsair should be fine for either set-up here.

I also WILL WAIT FOR THE 8800GT to be released on the 29th. I want to see its price point, as well as how it will affect the price of the 8800GTS. It sounds like it may be the right card for me. If the prices are higher than I expected, then maybe I'll wait for black Friday.

Thank you - and as always any suggestions are welcome.

Mon Oct 22, 2007 12:35 pm

Just one Damnidge, watch that case you have picked out. The side fan cone may get in the way of your cpu cooler, make sure that side fan/cone thing does not get in the way could cause huge headache.

Oh found this on new egg reviews!

Pros: Great Case. Lots of room.

Cons: Didn't fit my GeForce 8800. After I took the screwless piece off, it worked.

Other Thoughts: If you plan to have a 8800 in the future, you can get this case, but the screwless feature will not apply.

The Radeon Cards even bigger, just thought you should see this!

Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:09 pm

I'm not a fan of not having the top version of an OS - hate finding things i can't do etc but i'm not sure what you're missing out on by getting a home premium version

Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:34 pm

ACY

Thanks, and good points. I did notice that review, and the weird plastic easy pci holders are going to come off anyway. The 3.5 bay is removable and the hard drive bay looks to be easily modded, so in the worst case scenario I get my dremmel out, however I think I'll be ok. As far as the cpu duct, I was planning on taking it off and replacing it with a 120mm exhaust since I will be overclocking, or taking it off entirely if is stays cool with 2 120mm fans.

Rob

Thanks to you, and I hear you, but this machine is basically going to be my gaming and entertainment machine. My personal business machine will be separate, and keep its XP Pro. My new work computer has Vista Business which is fine for me. Home premium should be fine by Microsoft's comparison chart. If it were my only one, I would probably get the premium.

Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:40 pm

Thats why I will get a full tower...too many ppl complaining the newer high end cards arent fitting or barely fitting their midtowers. Plus the fact that there is more airflow.

Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:58 pm

I don't think I am going 2900pro as they don't even show on newegg anymore, and I can't find them anywhere else.

I'm still looking at the GTs though, which are lower profile and supposed to run cooler and draw less power.

Full towers are just too big. I had one once.

No one voted towards option 1 or 2 though - what do you guys think?

Also, I'm about to pull the trigger on the power supply - any thoughts there?

Mon Oct 22, 2007 4:03 pm

That is a solid power supply. Corsair's are made by Seasonic and are under rated so that 550 is probably over 600 or more.

I noticed that for for a few more bucks you could get the gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R, which would allow you to add ddr3 in the near future as I am sure those prices are coming down quickly. In fact, you could get 2gb of 1066 ddr3 right now for around $199, it also has support for core 2 quad which is only $60 more than the e6750.

I'm not saying you would want those upgrades but for around the same price you could have a MB that CAN upgrade.

Anyway my 2 cents, good luck man.

Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:10 pm

So If I am hearing you correctly, the "R" Gigabyte board would let me run the DDR2 right now, and then give me even more upgrade room to go to DDR3 in the same ram sockets later down the road?

If so, then that's a really good point. Anyone know of a deal on that one now?

Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:18 pm

Yes thats correct about the ram. Cept not sure if u can insert them into the "same slots" but it does have both ddr2 and ddr3 available

The one I was considering is an open box @ newegg for $114, but I guess I wasnt considering how you felt about open box items.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 813128048R

Mon Oct 22, 2007 5:34 pm

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835106085

$5 more for 2 more heat pipes